The True Will of SteinsGate?
by LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Eighteen years have passed and all of the former LabMems have grown up and gotten married, starting their own families. Everything is peaceful in the Steins;Gate worldline, just as Okabe wished. However, a random discovery during spring-cleaning throws Rose Makise-Smith and her best friends into a race against time. She might vanish forever though.OkabexMayuri; NextGen with a twist
1. Start of Summer

"Why did you call me out here? This is really not the time," She folded her arms across her chest, her tone of voice firm and her posture stiff and formal.

"You're jealous, aren't you? Jealous that you aren't the one allowed to join the magnificent legacy of Hououin Kyouma!" The tone was boastful, but somehow he still felt awkward over it. He held his hand out to her.

She sighed, not looking at his offered hand but at his entire form. "I...don't care that much. We got older. I honestly didn't think you'd be the one with difficulty truly moving on," She shot him a smug smile, foreign on her features. "Now go back inside. It's _her_ special day as well, and you don't want to keep her waiting,"

###

Rose glanced once more at the picture displayed on her phone, then back up at the building in front of her, then back down.

Yes, that was definitely the place. The bus that had dropped her off a few blocks away had long since drove off, and the driver gave her the strangest look out of the other passengers; first to confirm that she really did have that famous red-brown hair, second to make sure she was serious about her intended stop.

It had been twenty years, roughly, but the outside of the building looked just as it did when her future mother spent frequent days there in the past. She had it committed to memory from her mother's stories and thus, would probably quite literally kick herself if she had somehow gotten the address wrong.

But that was the outside. What did the inside look like?

Rose slipped her phone into her pocket and crossed her arms as she awaited the rest of the group; best friends and pseudo-sisters both as each of the seven girls had been practically inseparable since birth. They had done everything together, and today would be no exception. Their parents wanted all seven of them to look over the place together.

"Ugh, is this really it? It looks like such a dump. Did Mama really have to cry so hard when I told her about it?" A nasally voice reached Rose's ears, and she gave a nice smile to one of those girls; this one named Poptart. "Are you sure the address is correct?" Her hands were already on her hips as she surveyed the building from afar.

"Yes, I checked the coordinates about five times now," Rose confirmed.

"Ah, I actually quite like it. It has a certain sort of old-fashioned charm to it. And besides, buildings always look dreadful on the outside. I am sure the inside will be quite delightful," Rose heard the heavy footsteps of combat boots several seconds before their owner arrived, which was to be expected.

"He-" Rose tried to raise her hand in greeting, but the slim black-haired girl opted to pull her best friend into a tight hug, smiling happily. "E-Eh?!"

A camera shutter flickered just as Rose pushed Mari off of her; that camera signaling the arrival of yet another girl.

"Oh my, early today? That is a first!" Mari tittered. "That picture you took, was it a good one?"

Kiyomi ignored both of her comments, instead choosing to stare intently at the picture she just took.

"Not in a talking mood today, huh?" Poptart snickered, her mouth turned upwards in a very cat-like grin.

"Stop," Rose warned both girls.

"Yay! Looks like the gang is all here!" Hanako announced happily, bouncing over to the group with her identical twin sister Kanako in tow. "Oh, wait, I think we're missing someone!" She stood on her tiptoes, scanning everyone's faces.

"Is it your siblings? Are they coming?" Kanako addressed Kiyomi, Poptart, and Mari, who all shook their heads.

"Mother is taking them to the park today," Mari answered politely, covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve.

"Fenris wanted to work an extra shift at work today...for whatever reason," Poptart huffed.

"He...did not want to come today," Kiyomi answered, a bit uncertain in her words.

"Oh crud, I'm late, aren't I?" The last member of their group, as well as the second-oldest, skidded her bike to a full stop as the rest of the girls' eyes met hers.

"I say you're just in time. After all, we couldn't start this until we all arrived," Rose reassured her.

"Good," Suzuha sighed and slid off her bike, looking down at the dirt on her white Mary-Janes. "These things have no traction..."

After making sure everyone was ready, Rose took the lead and slowly climbed up the stairs, being quiet so as not to accidentally disturb anyone on the first floor. The stairs were steep and unstable, and Mari gasped a bit and tightened her grip on the railing.

"Curse these boots..!" She mumbled under her breath.

Rose said nothing, but silently agreed. Even with her light statue, a few stairs were shuddering at her weight. How old even was this building?

Finally, she came to the door and pushed it open, each girl leaning in curiously to take a peek inside. They all stared at the empty space in confusion.

Poptart was the first to speak up, pushing her way inside and huffing. "I just knew it'd be worse on the inside! It's even smaller! This is the great, amazing place all of our parents raved about?! The one they all ordered us to rent out this summer? It absolutely sucks! It's a total dump! Geezh..." She whined, standing in the center of the room. She was quite a petite girl with curly pink hair tied in a single high ponytail and matching eyes. She currently wore a ruffled orange sundress with off-shoulder sleeves and brown sandals with a matching brown headband. She was seventeen, somewhere in the middle when it came to ages in their group, though the girls were so close they barely paid much attention to those things.

Mari walked in next, eyeing the fridge and empty desk space in particular. "Hm, please pardon me if I sound shrewd, but I actually quite like it," She offered a smile to the younger girl. Mari was the third-oldest in their group at eighteen; born a month after Suzuha was. She had wavy black short hair pinned back with a violet skull barrette and deep violet eyes. Her clothing always found a way to be outlandish and rebellious; that day she wore black combat boots with fishnets and a very short violet furisode with a black skull pattern and choker around her neck. She also wore matching fishnet gloves.

"Your dad isn't here, you know. You can drop that formal tone," Poptart sneered.

"I am perfectly aware of that, but there is just something so exciting about having mundane conversations in this fashion, is there not?" Mari tittered before scowling. "Besides, that man has to dictate literally every other second of my life. I much prefer the illusion that I can control at least my speech patterns,"

"Yeah, yeah, 'Daddy Dearest' is so strict on you because he wants you to inherit his shrine as his oldest daughter. Woe is you! At least you know who he is," Poptart glared at her.

Rose cleared her throat. "I actually agree, I don't think this place is too bad," She cut in. "It's going to take a lot of work to make it liveable, but I think we can all manage. Clean it up, decorate it a bit, even get some food in the fridge, and I could easily see this becoming our new hang-out spot," She had chestnut hair tied in a high ponytail secured with a ribbon topped with a rose; her namesake. She also had light violet eyes. Her current outfit was of a simple green frilly blouse, jean shorts, black tights, a baggy tan coat that she wore half-hanging off her shoulders, and sneakers. No reason to get overly dressed-up for a house hunt, after all. She was the 'middle child' of the group at sixteen.

"This place was special to our parents. They made many memories here," Hanako added, staring at the empty corners in awe. "We should make it our special place too. In their memory!"

"Goodness, don't sound so morbid! They're not dead!" Mari gasped.

"Yeah! We could each have our own corner and fill it with our favourite things! Big Sister Kiyomi can have her photo corner, and Big Sister Rose can have her science corner, and Big Sister Poptart can have her game corner, and we can have our cosplay corner! Big Sister Suzuha and Big Sister Mari can join us there!" Kanako grinned widely. Both her and her sister had short black hair styled neatly into a bob and vivid green eyes. They also dressed the same quite often; only differing in colours. That day they both wore European-style school uniforms with pleated skirts; Hanako in blue and Kanako in red. They had little pieces of lace in their hair as well. They were collectively the youngest in their group, only being fifteen.

"I think I'd much rather have a sports corner," Suzuha teased. She wore her hair up in a fancy braid-bun and wore a cream-coloured lolita dress patterned with teddy bears. She was the second-oldest of the group at eighteen; Kiyomi was two months older than her and Mari was a month younger.

"But cosplaying is in your blood!" Kanako gasped.

"Yeah! I'm so jealous of how your parents dress you. I mean, one parent cosplayer is fine, but two?" Mari had stars in her eyes. "I'd be even more fashionable than I already am!" Mari, Suzuha, and the twins all had former cosplaying mothers who made all of their current outfits by hand just for them.

"I'm sweltering just looking at you," Rose commented. "We'll definitely need to get some AC for this place too," She looked over at Kiyomi, silently still shooting pictures of the empty space with her phone. "Let's split into groups. Kiyomi-san and I will be in charge of everyone. Hanako-chan and Kanako-chan, you two shall take Mari-san with you and go shopping for furniture. Poptart-san and Suzuha-san can help us unpack our things. Who wants to inform our parents we found the place?"

"...I can," Kiyomi offered, already dialing a number on her beige phone. She was a tall and intimidating person, with dark wavy locks and eyes and a stern expression constantly on her face. She wore black boots with grey jeans tucked in, a white T-shirt and green hoodie. She also wore silver glasses. Not only was she the tallest, but also the oldest of the group at eighteen.

Why did none of her friends feel as hot as she did, Rose mused. Almost all of them seemed dressed for autumn, or a cosplay shoot in the twins', Suzuha's, and Mari's cases.

"Yes, we found the location just fine," Kiyomi softly relayed. The girls all huddled in close to try and figure out who she was speaking to on the other line.

"I knew you girls would. Never forget, you all were born from the wombs of destruction, the seeds of evil! You seven were chosen specifically to be the next generation of terror and chaos unveiled on the unsuspecting world! And you will do so right there, from the safety of the same room your forebearers did before you!"

Rose rolled her eyes at the pretentious talk. All of that rambling on and on about being bred for destruction wasn't even cool to her when she was younger and spoonfed it daily. It most definitely wasn't cool now.

Mari chuckled. "We should totally have a party for everyone once we get all settled in! It could celebrate us all coming together again!"

"I would of course be delighted to attend alongside your parents, my dear Mariko!" Hououin Kyouma; the name of the persona he was clearly in now, announced. Mari perked up.

"I'll look forward to it then, Uncle Okabe!"

"That is not her name, and you know it," Rose grumbled into the other line.

"It's her crime-fighting name! Just like yours, Rosaline!" He laughed as Rose gasped in annoyance and hurried off.

Mari hurried the other way, towards the door. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Yeah!"

"Yes!" The twins echoed in unison, and soon the three girls had raced off, thundering down the stairs. Rose winced at all of their unnecessary noise. Kiyomi exchanged a few parting words before turning her phone off.

"Dad told me a lot about this place," Suzuha began. "Mostly about how they never really cleaned much of it out after they moved out, so there should be tons of their old stuff in one of the closets," She started to look around the lab.

Kiyomi remained where she was, but Rose started to explore a bit too, feeling antsy.

The fridge was empty, as she had expected. Nothing hung on the walls and even the dim couch, the only piece of furniture in the room, retained little life.

"A huge party is going to be held here later this week...can we really get it all ready in time?" Rose questioned herself. The place was quite small; a tiny bathroom was attached to the hallway with an even tinier room meant for just a cot. The largest room was the combined kitchen-living room area. Her mother told her they threw lots of parties and events in the building, but somehow that seemed impossible to believe right then.

"I don't see why not! If we really work at it, nothing is impossible!" Suzuha beamed as she tossed down a large box full of junk. "I found this!" It hit the floor with a large rattle as some objects crashed around inside.

Kiyomi snapped a quick picture. "...What...are those?"

"It looks like junk to me, frankly," Poptart spoke up, making the other girls all jump. The pink-haired girl walked over and bent down, hands firmly on her hips as she peered inside. "I mean, why even keep any of this? What is it?"

"This looks like a drone," Rose picked out a broken mess of wires attached to a green propeller. "Look,"

"...Science Invention 2.300?" Kiyomi blinked as she held up a feather duster with the feathers replaced by a knife with a yellow wire snaking up the top.

"One of Dad's earlier inventions," Suzuha nodded with pride. "Both of them are!"

"Ya know, I don't get your dad. He's a super genius hacker and pretty smart too, who could invent weird stuff like this. Why'd he just give it up? Why didn't he keep going?" Poptart kicked the box gently.

"If he kept going, he would've reached an end point eventually." Rose pointed out.

"I think it was just a hobby for him as a teen," Suzuha said, shifting a bit uncomfortably. "Um, maybe we should put this stuff back. It seems wrong to just be going through this without permission,"

Kiyomi nodded in agreement, while Rose tilted her head.

"We could sell this stuff on Amazon or something,"

"Who's going to buy junk like that?!" Poptart demanded.

"You'd be surprised," Rose shrugged. "Mom certainly would on her better days,"

"Well your mom is weird."

"...All of our mothers are weird," Suzuha slid the box back onto the top shelf. "And our fathers are too, for that matter," She added quickly.

"I want to...go back home. Get my pictures...hang some...up..." Kiyomi motioned to the blank walls, and Poptart perked up.

"Finally! Some excitement! I'll go right with you!" She jumped up and headed straight for the door while Kiyomi lumbered after. The other two girls waved to their pseudo-sisters before looking at each other.

"Let's start planning that party! First things first, the food!" Suzuha grinned, running over to one of the windows. "I think it should be takeout so we're not stuck waiting forever for people to cook,"

"Agreed," Rose nodded. "How about pizza? Or spaghetti?"

"Both! Oh, and a fruit salad, and regular salad, and lots of chips with dip, nachos..." Suzuha was all but drooling as she listed off potential party foods. Rose sighed.

"I think we should keep things simple, and think about everyone. What about Aunt Mayuri? She dislikes a lot of messy food,"

"Right! Chicken tenders!"

She hung her head and sighed. "I think pizza would be good. We could get something for everyone,"

"Alright! How about chips, or fries?" Suzuha leaned with her back up against the window.

"Fries."

"Drink?"

"Dr. Pepper!" Rose exclaimed, stars in her eyes. "The best drink in the world!"

Suzuha smiled nervously. "Yeah, and you make fun of my habits," She then walked back to the closet. "There's already some furniture here. That coffee table and couch, plus that fridge and big empty computer desk...I wonder if one of our parents swung by earlier and spruced it up a bit,"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Rose walked to the very back of the building, turning the light on in the last room. Size of a closet, with a nicely-made cot in the center. Shoved into one corner was a white microwave, which Rose stared at curiously. "Hm?"

"Found something?" Suzuha hurried over, pausing at the microwave. "Oh, what's that doing here?" She laughed nervously and placed the microwave on a small end table beside the fridge. "Does it even work?"

Rose shrugged. "Maybe not, since it was shoved away in that room," She had the overwhelming urge to touch it and reached her hand out slowly.

"Don't," Suzuha roughly grabbed her wrist, making her blink a few times. "It might be shorted,"

Rose nodded slowly. "Right..." Why did her head suddenly hurt so much?

####  
Mari and the twins had eventually decided on just getting some knickknacks to spruce up the place due to the furniture already inside. If they needed anything else, they could just ask their parents about it that night.

"Dadadata!" Hanako exclaimed happily to her twin.

"Susuzhi!" Kanako nodded back in reply, while Mari just stared at them curiously.

"I wish you two could stop doing that," She commented more to herself as they kept walking. She briefly reached for her phone in her kimono folds, but winced a bit when she remembered she had left it at Uncle Okabe's house the last time she visited. At least it wasn't lost.

The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky in rich orange and muggy gold. Cicadas buzzed noisily. Mari sighed a bit and walked faster once they started to pass the steps leading to her house and shrine. She hoped the trees were dense enough so that she could-

"Mari-chan!"

Crud, there went that idea.

"It's Uncle Luka!" Both twins smiled at once before smiling at Mari. "Why don't you stop by?"

"No," Mari tried to quicken her steps once more until she heard the familiar sound of boots hitting the ground. She forced herself to stop, keeping her back turned.

"Mari-chan!" Luka sighed in exasperation, out-of-breath. "Is your phone off? I tried calling you numerous times earlier,"

"I think so," She blinked. "I actually think I left it at Uncle Okabe's,"

"Oh, good thing it's not lost then," Luka smiled. His hair had grown out quite a bit and was brushed into a neat ponytail, and he currently wore a kimono in earthly colours. He was quite tall and a bit muscular, though he still often was mistaken for a girl.

"He'll probably give it back to her at the party later this week!" Hanako added.

"A party?" Luka's wife, a very sweet and quiet woman with long black hair named Kaede, asked nicely with her hands folded in front of her. "Do tell me, we're all invited too?" She wore a cerulean kimono patterned with white flowers.

"Yeah, it's for all of the parents!" Kanako reassured her. "So you can come, and your kids too!"

"That's wonderful!" Kaede turned to look at Mari, who had already taken off running, her bags swinging widely around her arms.

"Mari-chan..." Luka sighed and rubbed his head. "She's my heiress...my only one, and she keeps me at such a distance..." He suddenly teared up and raced off. Kaede's smile never wavered.

"I'll go take care of him. I look forward to the party," She waved.

"You should! There's probably going to be candy there!" Kanako called after her, then looked to her twin. "Abooga hoofa?"

"Boots boots!" The twins giggled before they started walking after Mari, looking forward to helping their pseudo-sisters set up the apartment.

###########

By the time Mari had arrived with the twins, Kiyomi and Poptart had been in the middle of hanging up several pictures while Suzuha and Rose had finished pushing the large empty desk into one corner of the room.

"You two did that all by yourselves? I am very impressed," Mari chuckled.

"You're so strong!" Hanako gasped in awe.

"But now...we have to figure out what time and day we want this party to take place," Rose sighed a bit, sitting herself down on the couch. "All we've said is that it'll be sometime later this week,"

"Saturday!"

"Friday!" Hanako and Kanako both shouted at once.

"I quite like the idea of it being on Saturday," Mari nodded.

"Same here," Suzuha agreed. "They'll all likely be taking a break from their jobs, so it'll be perfect. And of course we'll have a few days to prepare,"

"Time?" Rose pressed.

"I dunno, like seven thirty or something," Poptart shrugged.

"...I think...eight...eight sounds good..." Kiyomi was staring at the screen of her phone.

"Alright! So, Saturday night at seven thirty or eight! Perfect!" Rose jumped up. "I think we've done more than enough work for today. We should go home and brainstorm more ideas for how to improve this area,"

The girls all nodded in agreement and pulled each other into a giant hug, laughing before they all went their separate ways.

Rose stared down at the ground as she awaited the bus, her mind still on the microwave she found. Looking at it filled her with curiosity and illness both. Why? Did she even want to know the answer? Was she even allowed to know?

The bus honked at her and she graciously bowed her head before hurrying on, sitting near the middle. For the whole ride, she just mulled over her thoughts. What to do next?

####

Kiyomi simply walked home, arriving at the large apartment complex and walking up to the seventh floor. She walked right in and looked around, snapping a photo of her mother and younger brother in the kitchen.

"Dinner?" She asked slowly, pointing to it.

"Yes, but I'm afraid it's nothing home-cooked today," Kiyomi's father smiled at her. He was a tall man with reddish-brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, a bit of stubble on his face. "Are you fine with that?"

She just nodded at Mr. Yamada and silently took a seat on the couch in front of the TV. All around the living room were collages of photos of not just their life, but various other interesting things as well. Most were taken by Mr. Yamada, a famous photographer.

"I got the plates!" Mamoru, her younger brother, announced happily, setting out several paper plates and silverware. "Let's act like it's gourmet tonight!" He also had the colourings of his mother and sister but was far more cheerful than them. He was seventeen; a year younger than her.

"...Burgers...?" She asked slowly as her father brought the bag in, carefully dolling out what everyone had ordered. It was strange to see a sad-looking burger propped up on a paper plate like that.

"Let's watch the news!" Her father suggested, turning it on. Mamoru pouted at that, shoving some fries into his mouth.

Their mother walked in last, her hair up in pigtails. She wore a cream-coloured business dress with a navy jacket tossed over it. She sat on the other side of the couch and began eating.

"Rough day?" Mamoru piped up.

"...No. Just tired..." Kiryuu shook her head, looking away. She worked as Rintaro's personal secretary and had for almost two decades.

Kiyomi remained silent as she ate her food, watching the news. After a while, though, she spoke up again. "This weekend...party...we found...place..."

"Use your words, darling," Mr. Yamada gently coaxed his daughter.

"Your old place," Kiyomi continued, looking over at Kiryuu. "So we...wanted to have a party...this weekend...you all can come..." She sighed and looked at Mr. Yamada for clarification.

"You did quite nicely," He nodded happily.

"I'd love to come!" Mamoru grinned. "I'd love to get into another arm-wrestling contest with Suzuha-chan! She beat me last time and I promised her I'd get her back for that!"

"I as well would like to come and chat with the other adults. Poor me, I always feel so out-of-the-loop. It's like having a super close-knit family that you marry into!" Mr. Yamada laughed.

"We...we have a lot of...memories. Been through a lot..." Kiryuu sighed. "I'll come...too."

Kiyomi nodded. "I want to take pictures...of everything."

####

Suzuha panted a bit as she skidded her bike to a stop in front of her house, having pedaled very fast. She lived in a tiny but quaint green house on the nicer part of town; it even had a backyard. She walked her bike over to the garage and placed it next to it, then darted up the porch stairs and inside the house.

"I'm home!" She announced happily, looking around.

"Welcome back! Oh, your hair is a mess!" Yuki gasped in surprise as she took in her daughter's appearance. "Were you biking really hard?"

"Yeah..." Suzuha smiled sheepishly. "Oh, are you making dinner? What is it?"

"Oh, just some beef stew. I didn't want to go too crazy tonight," She smiled back. Her hair was cut shorter and she wore a light pink off-shoulder striped top with grey jean shorts. A pink headband pulled her hair back.

"A family favourite!" Suzuha nodded in agreement. "Where's Dad?" She started to follow her mother back into the kitchen.

"Oh, probably holed up in his office again, like always. Why don't you go be a true sweetheart and go get him for me?" Yuki picked up a ladle and started to gently stir the pot on the stove. Suzuha nodded and ran down the hallway, pulling open the door to Daru's office without knocking.

"Dad! You in here? Mom said dinner's ready!" She called out.

Daru jumped in surprise, looking over from his computer. "Yes! Tell her I'm coming!"

Suzuha shook her head slightly. "Dad, at least turn a light on while you work. It'd help your eyes not get any worse," She teased.

"No can do! My work is very detailed, and it's integral that the lights remain off!"

"Uh-huh," She and Daru headed back to the dinner-table, where Yuki was in the middle of serving everyone.

"Right on time!" She smiled happily, putting away the excess food and sitting down next to Daru. Once they clasped their hands together, they started to eat, Yuki smiling eagerly at Suzuha. "So, tell us all about it. Did you find the right place?"

Suzha nodded, eating her soup rapidly and getting some noodles on her face. "Yup! And it looks just like how it did when you two hung out there as teenagers,"

"Oh, that's delightful!" Yuki beamed.

"Well, I can see why. It's not in a popular part of town, and I don't understand who'd want to rent out a shack like that," Daru commented, making Yuki playfully slap his arm.

"Well, Poptart-chan fussed about it. Said the closet was full of useless junk and the place in general was a dump. She didn't understand why Aunt Faris cried so much when we told her we were going to rent the place out for the summer," Suzuha continued.

"That girl is such a spoiled angel! A cream-puff!" Daru rambled.

"I think she'll come around once the place is fixed up," Yuki reassured her daughter.

"Oh yeah! We all agreed to have a party Saturday night to celebrate us getting the place set up. We're inviting all of our parents, including you two,"

"Well, we'll definitely be there! What's the theme? Ooooh, cosplay?"

"Yeah, just think of her and Kaede-san and Mayuri-chan and maybe even Luka-kun, all dressed cutely...!" Daru drooled a bit.

"Oh, you'd have to dress up as well!" Yuki gently teased her daughter.

Suzuha chuckled. "No way. Unless I get to be a badass soldier or something. I can already tell the twins and Mari-chan will dress in something super fancy and over-the-top,"

Her parents laughed as well. "It's to be expected, knowing who their mothers are. My bestest friends, but they wouldn't know the word subtle if it hit them in the head," Yuki added.

The family of three continued to eat their dinner, happily laughing and chatting with each other about their respective days.

######

Mari headed back home to her temple, walking up the stairs and sitting in the entrance-way, beginning the long and daunting task of untying the laces on her boots.

"Big Sister is home!"

"Oh, hello," Mari's younger brother and sister perked up upon seeing her. She smiled happily at them.

"Hi yourselves. Is dinner ready?" She asked, yanking off the first boot with a sigh.

"Mother said she was waiting for you to come back," Hikari answered; her fifteen-year-old sister. She was a splitting image of their mother with long black hair and matching brown eyes. Her ten-year-old brother; Satoshi, had brown eyes as well; only she inherited her father's vibrant violet eyes.

"Are you going to help her?" Satoshi asked curiously, blinking his eyes.

"Nah, I don't think she'll need my help," Mari finished untying her laces and set the boots down neatly on the mat next to her family's. "Where's Father?"

"Cleaning up," Hikari answered. "But it's probably best not to bother him because he's not in a good mood,"

Mari ignored her younger sister and ran foreward into the house, finding Luka in the middle of setting the table. "Hi Father!" She yelled, making Luka jump and nearly drop the silverware. She laughed.

"Don't startle me like that..." Luka pouted, setting the silverware down. Chopsticks for everyone with deep bowls. "Why don't you go help your mother cook?"

"Scaring you is far more fun!" She snickered. "Oh, speaking of which, we found the old hangout spot of you guys,"

"Really? Is it just like how I remember it?" Luka asked in excitement, clasping his hands together. The noise from the kitchen briefly ceased before continuing again, and Mari knew that meant Kaede was listening as well.

"Indeed, everything is exactly as you described. The place is empty though. I would love to set up a cosplay corner or something in there," Mari nodded as Satoshi and Hikari ran into the room, taking their seats.

"You guys should have a party to celebrate once you all fully move in!" Kaede suggested with a smile, carrying in a tray full of steaming rice and vegetables.

"Actually, we are. We bounced some ideas off each other and decided we would hold it later this week," Mari took her seat, fluffing out her kimono.

"Ah, your barrette is crooked!" Luka gasped, reaching his hands out and gently straightening the violet skull barrette in her hair. Mari waved him off in annoyance.

"That sounds lovely! Are we invited?" Kaede asked. "Actually, now that I think about it, the twins mentioned it to me earlier. They said we were all invited; the siblings too," She started serving everyone.

"Yes, I believe that is indeed what we decided on," Mari nodded.

Luka finally took his own seat; all of them kneeled at their table, and after Kaede served herself, she took a seat next to him and they bowed their heads in gratitude before beginning to eat.

"Will there be a theme?" Kaede asked nicely. "I'd love to dress up again!" She flashed a grin over at Luka, who jumped.

"I don't think so. A lot of food though, which Uncle Itaru will likely be happy about it," Mari picked at her food slightly.

"He's been trying to lose weight!" Luka gasped. "Don't be so harsh on him!"

"It'll be fun to see Fenris-kun again," Satoshi said. "There aren't a lot of boys my age to play with in town, so..you know. I know even he's a bit older than me...but not by much! Uh, I love playing with Hikari-oneechan and they're the same age!"

Hikari giggled. "And I would be delighted to see Rose-chan again. We have gotten quite close since we recently learned we were accepted into the same high-school,"

"Your high-school intimidates me! Everyone there speaks English so well!" Satoshi gasped.

Everyone chuckled.

"Maybe when you get a bit older, I'll teach you," She smiled.

#####

Poptart sighed as she stepped into her mother's cafe, feeling a hundred pairs of eyes on her.

"She's so adorable and tiny!"

"She looks just like her mother!"

"Does she cosplay too?"

"Oh, I'd love to play her. Probably a better opponent than her mother,"

Poptart walked into the changing room, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her mother glanced over at her and gave her a large cat-like smile.

"Poptart-nyan! You're just in time. I'm just about to get off my shift, nyan!" Her mother didn't look a day past her mid-twenties despite almost being forty. She still wore her hair up in curly, thick pigtails, her cat ears tightly secured on top. She was still wearing her maid dress, modified to flatter her new maternal body.

"Is Fenris still on-duty?" Poptart asked instead. "You better tell him to stop, otherwise he's going to work himself to death!"

"Nyan? I'm not worried about him. He's a hard worker just like his papa!"

"You don't even know who _my_ father is," She accused just as a boy with brown hair and pink eyes walked into the room. He was wearing a tight butler suit with matching cat ears, which he promptly pulled off.

"We eating here or at home?" Fenris asked calmly.

"Ugh, please not here, Mama! Everyone stares at us!" Poptart whined.

"Everyone loves to stare at you because you're so adorable, nya! Just like a little doll!" Faris laughed. "Actually, I'm going to stay here for a few more hours. Boring business stuff, nya. You guys can head home though,"

"I'll call our driver," Fenris nodded, pulling out his phone.

"What about those creepy old men?" Poptart pressed, not about to drop the issue.

"A customer is a customer, nyan!~" Faris smiled happily. "Speaking of which, some little kitty-cats told Faris Nyan-Nyan all about your adventure today, nya! What's the place like? Everything just how I remember it?"

"You mean a dump? Because that's what it is," Poptart grumbled. "I want some coffee,"

"Awww, that place wasn't such a dump when I was your age," Faris pouted, her cat-ears drooping. "You planning anything fun, nya?"

"Just some party on Friday I think. Everyone's invited. Including the siblings. That'll get really loud really fast. Why does everyone have to have siblings!" Poptart walked into the back kitchen and started making a coffee for herself, bored with waiting.

"Oh, that sounds delightful, nya!~" Faris purred.

"Our ride is outside. See you later, Mom," Fenris hung up his phone and Faris waved to him eagerly. Poptart gasped and hurriedly slapped a lid on her drink, chasing after him.

"Wait! Don't you dare leave me behind!" She followed him into their limo.

Faris waved after her energetically as well. "Faris-Mama will join you two at home later! Nyan!~" She smiled to herself, adjusting her cat-ears and tail. She then walked into her office, which was a room off of the normal changing room for employees. A man was leaning against the doorway, grinning.

"I won your latest contest," He reminded her as she shut the door.

"You sure did!~ Lucky man you are, Master! Is Master ready for his prize, nyan?~" She teased. He nodded and pulled her close. "I have to be home by nine," She whispered into his ear firmly.

Meanwhile, Poptart and Fenris ate dinner themselves, talking about their day. Their meal was a formal ham dinner cooked by their personal chef. Poptart grumbled a bit.

"I just wish you didn't have to come too. There's going to be loud annoying children running around everywhere," She twirled her fork around on her plate.

"I am not loud though. I am fifteen. I'll just keep to myself," Fenris blinked, then looked over at their butler. "Sorry to bother you, but this dinner is awfully dull. Could you please put some music on to lighten Older Sister's spirits?"

The butler nodded and turned the TV on to a music channel playing pop songs. Poptart twitched a bit, loudly scraping her fork across her plate.

"It's cutesy," Fenris added.

Poptart sighed. "At least you attempt to understand me, unlike literally everyone else in my life!" She started to eat again, wiggling in her seat slightly to the beat.

After dinner was over, she was singing the song under her breath. Fenris subtly smiled at her.

####

Rose sighed as she walked from the bus stop to her own house, a small but nice one-floored house with a large yard and basement.

"Hello? Is anyone home? I'm here!" She called into the house, finding her voice bounced off the empty rooms. She headed down into the basement, glancing around and finding nobody there. "Huh. Even Dad is gone,"

She went back upstairs and headed to the kitchen, finding an uncooked cup of ramen placed on the counter alongside a small bottle of Dr. Pepper. A note attached to the ramen said: 'Sorry, work is going to run a bit late for us tonight. Catch me on the television though as you eat, alright? I'll be home around two. Your father will be home an hour after. Your mother,'

Rose shrugged. "It's not the healthiest thing to eat, but at least there's Dr. Pepper." She began to cook the ramen in the microwave and settled down on the couch, finding the program her mother spoke of. It was still ongoing and featured Dr. Kurisu Makise; now wearing her hair in a bob, speaking confidently in front of a podium. Her current research was on how the brain processed and stored memories; it was how she met her current husband, Mr. Smith. She was on a research project in America.

And indeed, the blond man was standing on the edge of the stage, arms folded over his chest as he watched his wife work the room proudly.

"It is my belief that memories do not simply vanish when we cannot remember them anymore. Rather, they are just stored someplace else and we are not able to access them anymore. Unless we had some sort of key, if you would," Kurisu was explaining seriously in the microphone.

The microwave beeped and Rose Makise-Smith jumped a bit and quickly got her noodles out, breaking apart her chopsticks and opening her Dr. Pepper as she watched.

According to her Uncle Okabe, Kurisu had an unrivaled intellect for her young age when he first met her. He always found it odd how she wished to pursue neuroscience after university and not more speculative sciences like time-travel. Rose just shrugged that off.

People's interests changed. She also heard from Uncle Itaru and Aunt Mayuri that her mother used to be far more moody and closed-off emotionally. Staring at the confident woman on that stage, Rose couldn't believe that either. Kurisu was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.

She began to eat her noodles and thought of the random microwave she found earlier and gasped in slight pain, grabbing her head.

"Just don't think about it. You have a migraine or something..." She sighed to herself.

###

Kanako and Hanako pushed open the door to their tiny apartment, finding their mother in the middle of stacking pillows up.

"Mommy?" The identical twins asked simultaneously, and Mayuri shushed them.

"I'm hiding from the mad scientist,"

The twins gasped and instantly began to help Mayuri, trying to contain their giggles at the thought of playtime so close to dinner.

Once the large pillow-fort was finished, the three quickly climbed inside, Hanako secretly peeking out to serve as a look-out.

"Where did my hostage go? It is time for her to succumb to my wills and make me a fitting feast!" Okabe, now in his Hououin Kyouma alias, announced as he stepped into the room. Kanako tried to contain her giggles and failed, making Kyouma glance at her. "Aha, I have found one of the servants! Trying to make her escape from me! But she should've been more clever!"

"No! I'm still hiding! You never saw me!" Kanako continued to laugh, easing herself out of the pillow-fort and trying to run past him, only to get pulled into a large hug.

"Muhahaha, I have caught the escapee! But where is her sister and their mother, the true hostage?" He looked around and found Mayuri peeking through the fort. "There she is!" He playfully tossed Kanako back into the pillows, making the whole fort collapse and all of the girls laugh.

"I am terribly sorry I tried to hide from you, Kyouma-san," Mayuri bowed remorsefully, a smile still on her face. "I will make a great dinner for you to make up for it! How does chicken tenders and banana pudding sound?"

"Banana pudding!" Hanako nodded eagerly. "Bananas are squishy!"

"That they are, my servant. That they are," Kyouma nodded in agreement as Mayuri walked into the kitchen to cook. She wore a long peasant blouse and matching skirt with a sunhat on. Her hair was to her waist and tied up neatly in a ponytail.

"May we please help you, Mommy?" Kanako asked softly, and Mayuri nodded.

"Guess what, Daddy?" Hanako asked Okabe, sensing he was back to normal.

"What?" He asked, starting to put the pillows back on the couch.

"Sim-sola Gil's!" She laughed. "That means we went to the place you and Mommy used to live in when you were younger!"

"That's wonderful! Has it changed?" Mayuri asked wistfully. "Oh, Mayushii has so many fond memories of that place. It's where she met her best friends. It's where she had lots of laughs. It's also where Okarin proposed to her,"

"It looks just like how you always said it did!" Kanako confirmed, smiling.

"I'm surprised it's remained intact all these years. But I guess that makes sense. Not much there to develop," Okabe shrugged.

"And we're also going to have a huge party this weekend! We're all invited!" Hanako threw her hands up.

"We're going to have chicken tenders!" Kanako added.

"Hopefully something else too?" Okabe prodded, making Mayuri pout.

"You like Mayushii's chicken tenders!"

"Because only she knows how to make them right,"

The pillows all rearranged and the dinner finished cooking, the family sat down at the table and began to eat their meal. At one point Mayuri took the cookies out of her share of pudding and put them up to her eyes, making her daughters laugh.

"I'm a fish!"

"And I'm an alien!" Kanako placed her chicken tenders on her head and made them wobble.

Hanako laughed.

After they finished eating, the twins proceeded to tackle Okabe on the couch, holding him down.

"Yay! We took down Daddy!" Kanako cheered.

"We're victorious!" Hanako added.

Mayuri laughed and gently helped her husband back up to his feet.


	2. I'm Whose Daughter Now?

The next morning, the girls all woke up and ate breakfast and dressed, heading straight to either the old apartment building or some stores in downtown to get more furniture and decorations to spruce the place up. However, a few still had other obligations to complete that morning regardless of their original intended plan, such as Mari Urushibara, who was slowly pulling an arrow back in the bow as she focused on the target.

"One, ya! One, ya! One, ya!" Luka cheered her on every time she cocked it and hit the target. Mari eventually sighed after she ran out of arrows, wiping the sweat off her brow.

Stop yelling so loudly, Father. It breaks my concentration," She scolded, heading over to the target to retrieve her arrows. She started placing them in her bag. Luka blushed.

"Lukako and Mariko! My two favourite soldiers!" A brash voice called out, and Luka gasped and bowed immediately.

"Kyouma-san!" He smiled.

"Hi Uncle Okabe," Mari smiled as well, carrying her bag of arrows.

"Still hard at work, practicing for the inevitable war, are you?" He smirked, and Mari nodded. "Speaking of which, Mariko! I recently seized your communication device! Be more careful that the Organization doesn't get a hold of it, it has precious information on it!" He tossed a violet phone in the air and Mariko easily caught it.

"Thanks," She slipped it back into her pocket.

"Um, is that all you're here for, Kyouma-san?" Luka asked shyly.

"Indeed it is, but do not despair, Lukako! One of these days, I shall call on your expertise specifically!" He posed and laughed.

"I'll look forward to it," Luka bowed shyly.

"I have to head back to the building. I'm one of the ones picked to get food, it looks like," Mari bowed nicely to Okabe before running off, wearing her father's old black leather jacket over red pants with a chained belt and black off-shoulder top.

"Bye! I'm looking forward to your party!" Luka waved back happily, starting to clean up their training area.

####

Mari and Kiyomi weren't at the headquarters when the rest of the girls arrived, as they were out buying food for the fridge. Rose glanced around at the room, trying to figure out what needed to be done next.

"Why don't we reorganize some of the furniture? Move that desk over by the door, move the couch closer to the window," Suzuha finally suggested after a time.

"I was going to suggest pictures. Spruce this dull place up," Poptart huffed. "If Kiyomi-san was here, she could help with that,"

"Oh, why don't we go out and get some more furniture?" Kanako suggested kindly. "There's two empty rooms in here. Let's spruce them up too!"

"Yeah! We can turn it into a giant cosplay room!" Hanako announced. "With all of our costumes everywhere!" The twins were dressed in identical spaghetti-strap sundresses and sunhats; blue for Hanako and purple for Kanako.

"What's with you two and cosplay?" Poptart pouted.

"We'd need someone to help us move the furniture we bought up the stairs. Even if we just get something small like a nightstand, there's no way we'd be able to," Suzuha thought about it.

"What about Mr. Tennouji?" Rose suggested. "Sure, he's getting up there in age, but he's also the owner of this room. Surely he wouldn't mind,"

"After our parents tormented that poor man so much? I doubt it," Suzuha teased.

"Let's ask our daddy!" Kanako shouted.

"And Big Sister Suzuha's daddy too!" Hanako added.

"No. We want our renovations on this place to be kept a secret," Rose shook her head at them.

"Awwww!" The twins pouted at the same time, giving Rose puppy-dog eyes. She refused to budge.

"Let's start moving this desk. You three can clear out the remainder of the rooms," Suzuha said, standing up and grabbing onto the edge of the wooden desk. Rose grabbed the other side and gasped a bit at the weight, trembling.

"It's so heavy...!" She groaned as she pulled it out of its location; it budged slightly.

"Of course it is, it's a computer desk! Made from wood no less!" Suzuha laughed and easily pulled on her side, making the desk slide over that way.

Rose grumbled to herself as they slowly but surely scooted the desk over to the other side of the room. They then pushed the couch over by the window, a much easier task but Rose still found herself exhausted after the efforts. She collapsed right on the couch.  
"We finished!" Hanako announced, blinking at the sight. "Hm?"

"Oh, you're all super sweaty now! You should take a shower!" Kanako determined, marching right up to Rose.

"I think I'm fin-hey!" She widened her eyes as the twins cheerfully pulled her off the couch and started to pull off her clothes.

"There's a tiny shower here," Hanako explained as if that made the situation any better.

"I think I'm perfectly fine...!" Rose declined, trying to cover up her plain white bra.

"But you'll smell bad when you go back home..." Kanako pouted. With one great heave, she yanked both her shorts and tights down in one fluid motion, making Rose gasp and fall to the ground, taking the twins with her.

"Well, she's right. Your parents don't wanna smell that," Suzuha grinned cheekily, her hands on her hips.

Rose finally wrestled the twins off her and covered her underwear up with her jacket. "Fine, you two win. I'll take a quick shower. Nothing more, nothing less," She grumbled as the twins cheered to celebrate their victory.

Rose trudged into the tiny shower room and shut the door, sighing as she turned the water on and let the room fill with steam. She realized then she had left her clothes out in the living room but attempted to shrug it off. They were all girls; they had grown up together close as sisters. It wasn't anything super humiliating. She closed her eyes and let the hot water wash over her body as she recalled the microwave. She hadn't had a bad headache-any sort of headache since the previous night. And both Poptart and the twins cleaned out that room and likely tossed it out because it was old and broken. She'd never have to worry about ever again.

#####

Despite it being the middle of summer, Mayuri, Kaede, and Yuki still had their jobs to go to; their pastel aprons and dresses denoting them as child caregivers. They often worked as elementary teachers during the actual school year and babysitters and daycare supervisors during the summer. Originally the girls hadn't intended to meet up at all after work that day, but a random slight change of plans allowed for that to happen.

The three women sat together at a cafe under an umbrella, each eating a different dessert. Yuki had strawberry crepes, Mayuri had chocolate ice-cream, and Kaede had a slice of vanilla-buttercream cake.

"I'm so excited for the girls' party this Saturday!" Yuki smiled. "It seems like forever we've been able to go out and have a reunion-of-sorts."

"I know! Mayushii wonders if she'll be allowed to dress for the occasion. She's hard at work on some new outfits!" Mayuri beamed.

"I don't really mind wearing the same-old same-old. Though dressing in cosplay would still be nice as well," Kaede tilted her head slightly as Yuki's phone rang. "Who's that?"

"Mr. Smith!" She read in surprise. "Wonder why he's calling me,"

"Kurisu-chan's husband!" Mayuri said eagerly.

"Oh, he didn't answer. Must've called me by mistake," Yuki set her phone out on the table and revealed her inbox, making Kaede's eyes widen.

"Your mailbox is very full, Yuki-chan! Don't you want to clean it out?" Mayuri stared at her with her vivid green eyes.

"Of course I do, I just get so busy. Some of this stuff has been in here since 2013 though, so.." She turned her phone off. "Maybe I can ask Itaru-kun to perform an entire system sweep on it..."

"Reminds me of a bizarre mail I received shortly after I learned I was pregnant with Mari-chan," Kaede chimed in.

"Tell us! Tell us!" Mayuri cheered eagerly.

"It was likely just spam..something about eating lots of fruit and remaining in good health. It was frantic as if I was going to die if I didn't take care of myself or something," She laughed. "Sounded like spam to me,"

"Those people would do anything to sell their products," Yuki nodded in agreement.

"Oh! Maybe it wasn't spam at all! Maybe it was a secret message in code sent to you by your great-great-great granddaughter!" Mayuri's eyes lit up. "She's part of a resistance force just struggling to stay alive and you are their last hope!"

"You're listening to Okabe-san's stories too much," Kaede shook her head. "I deleted that message anyway. The sender's name was glitchy too..."

"Probably for the best," Yuki nodded, then perked up. "What do you girls say to going shopping later on after we eat? For old times sake? We can get those new shoes at the mall that just came in, the ones with the kitten heels and the little bows on the toes...?"

"Yeah! Let's wear those to the party!" Mayuri suggested happily.

"Yes, we could all get different-coloured bows and wear dresses to match..." Kaede was already thinking about it.

"What if our husbands wear a shirt to match our colour scheme? It'll look so cool!" Yuki squealed.

"Let's do it! Mayushii wants to see Okarin wear a blue shirt!" She agreed.

"And Luka-kun would look quite handsome in violet..." Kaede smiled.

"And Itaru-kun could wear peach!" Yuki finished.

The three girls giggled in agreement and continued to eat their desserts so they could head off and go shopping.

####

"We got the food," Mari announced happily as her and Kiyomi entered the room with bags full of food. Rose motioned over to the fridge, running a hand through her loose wet hair. The two started to put it away in the fridge while the other girls talked; Rose laid down slowly on the couch. Everything suddenly sounded like it was underwater to her and the twins immediately caught her distress.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you sick?" They both asked at once.

Rose glanced at them and blinked.

Was she sick? She didn't really feel sick in the normal sense; her eyes ached dully, she felt dizzy and everyone sounded like they were underwater and overly-saturated. She managed a shrug.

"I guess moving that desk took a lot out of her!" Poptart snickered, though even she couldn't hide the worry in her eyes.

Rose sat up. "Maybe...I'm getting a summer cold. Maybe I should head home early..." She managed to tie her hair back up with the scrunchie and slowly stood up with a wobble.

"Can you take the bus?" Suzuha asked in concern. "I can ask my parents to give you a ride-"

Rose shook her head and stood up straight. "That won't be necessary. I'm perfectly fine. I just need to go home and rest," She made her way over to the door and gasped, nearly collapsing before everything became normal. Her dizziness was gone and everyone's voice sounded as it should. She stared down at her feet in confusion.

"Okay...? You still look...sick," Kiyomi added.

"I...I think I need to see Uncle Okabe," Rose said, more to herself before she took off running.

####

"Dizziness, oversaturation, headaches..." Okabe stared at Rose as she sat on the couch of his living room. The other girls hid behind the wall, staring at their friend in concern. "I've heard of those symptoms only once before,"

"What do they mean?" Their tones were no longer of a godparent and goddaughter or of family friends; they were the tones of researchers.

"Your mother does research on neurology. Did you know that when she was younger, she used to do research on time-travel?" Okabe continued. Rose's eyes widened.

"Mom did? No-nonsense, no 'fake science' Mom?" She asked in disbelief. "She doesn't believe in that," Even Okabe himself admitted Kurisu stopped pursuing such sciences after she got a bit older.

"Not this version of her," He looked at the girls and motioned for them to come in and sit down as well. "I have kept this secret for eighteen years. My own adolescence was plagued with the knowledge of time-travel and time machines. I spent days making an attempt to discover a perfect worldline, a divergence where all of us could live together in peace happily, without the burden of time travel. The things that have happened to your parents, the things I've done to them..." Okabe paused for a moment, his voice less level. "However, I see now that even this worldline is extremely delicate. You finding that microwave is proof of that. I have no idea what else will transpire as a result of this. I do not want this burden to be given to you, but seeing as how you started this, I have no choice,"

Rose stared at him.

"Find out where this worldline diverges and retrace your steps. Undo what it was that started this,"

"We're not going to disappear or anything, right?" Poptart demanded. "Because that's a huge trope of time-travel stories!"

"Along with the world blowing up, or ending up in World War 3, or becoming a dystopia," Suzuha added.

"Or one of us becoming a dictator! Or someone we know becoming a dictator!" Mari yelled.

"I will not deny that all of those outcomes are possible given the current circumstances, but I have no choice. As this is a worldline with time-travel, I only have limited time to make a working machine. I'll enlist the help of your parents." Okabe continued. "The machine may look a bit...unorthodox compared to what you've seen in the media, but it'll function well. And remember, I am your ally. No matter what worldline you end up in, I will not be far. Find me and ask me for help,"

The girls nodded solemnly, then left for their respective houses, mulling over what they just learned.

####

The next day, Mari, Suzuha, and Rose were all called back to Okabe's apartment and upon arrival, found a white microwave with a headset and old phone hooked up to it.

"I am no expert, but aren't time machines supposed to be enclosed for protection?" Mari asked.

"Why just the three of us?" Suzuha asked instead.

"Because your timelines are the most stable," Okabe said nothing more as Rose placed the headset on after some hesitation.

"I just don't want my friends to disappear...what we need to do must be done quickly and quietly as a result," She directed, and the other two nodded.

The machine flipped on and she bit her lip as a surge of electricity coursed through her body. She dug her feet into her sneakers and gripped the headphones tightly until everything became still.

The room she was currently in was dark and silent; it showed signs of people living there but nothing overly-familiar. Rose set the headset down and slowly walked around, tilting her head.

"Hello? Hello!" She called out, receiving no response. The floor under her creaked and she finally gathered herself up and bolted out of there, running off.

The outside still looked like Uncle Okabe's apartment, just dark. Maybe they just weren't home. Nothing else seemed to be different. She took the bus to the old laboratory and sighed as she climbed up the stairs, her knees feeling ready to buckle.

Everyone was there, making her smile in relief.

"Hey. Are we still making last-minute preparations for the party?" Rose asked slowly.

"You're late," Kiyomi stated, snapping a picture of her.

"Don't worry, we weren't waiting super long. Still, that just proves you've got more of Uncle Okabe in you than you realize!" Suzuha teased.

Rose frowned. "Why would I have any traits of his? We aren't related by blood," She stepped in further, suddenly feeling off.

"Haha, someone's in denial. You get into a fight?" Poptart laughed.

"I do not blame her for wishing her father was different," Mari covered her mouth with a sleeve.

"Father? My dad isn't Uncle Okabe, my dad is Mr. Andrew Smith, from Washington. Mom got married to him in-" Rose stopped when she caught their faces of disbelief.

"Are you sick, Big Sister Rose? You're saying weird things!" Hanako pouted.

"Yeah! She can't remember that her daddy is our daddy too!" Kanako added.

Rose's heart dropped to her feet. Everything around her seemed to freeze. "...Huh?" She blinked. "Can I see your phone?" She addressed Kiyomi, who paled and hugged it protectively to her chest.

"Oh here, have mine," Suzuha tossed hers over and Rose gratefully nodded and went through the photos and messages.

"I mean, Uncle Andrew is your dad now, because he married Aunt Kurisu three years ago," Poptart added. "You went to the wedding,"

Indeed, Rose found a picture of the wedding with a happily-smiling Kurisu and Andrew. Even Rose herself was there with her hair done up nicely.

It still made no sense to her though. So Mr. Smith was her stepdad, but how would Uncle Okabe even be her father?

"I am unsure of many details myself, but if you are really curious," Mari began. "Uncle Okabe and Aunt Kurisu both dated for a long time in their youth before breaking it off due to his engagement to Aunt Mayuri. Before that, though, they had a one-night stand and you are the result of that,"

Rose's knees _did_ indeed buckle then, and she collapsed to the floor.

###

Rose called the planning off at an earlier time that day and rushed straight home, feeling empty.

Everything seemed to be exactly the same. Her friends all had the same exact lives. Her favorite stores were all open, her favorite shows still on TV, the bus driver was still the same one it was the other day...it seemed unreal.

Even her house was in the same exact place as it was before, and upon arrival she raced straight in and looked at herself in the mirror.

Same violet eyes and chestnut hair. Same tan coat she wore half-hanging off her shoulders. Except...her usual black tights were now a light caramel. And her eye shape and the way her hair fell seemed different as well.

Otherwise, even everything else in her house remained the same. She walked into the kitchen and anxiously poured herself a glass of Dr. Pepper, trying to calm herself down.

"You're home early! I didn't even hear the door close," Kurisu said in surprise, walking into the kitchen. Her hair was still worn in a bob and she wore a sleek purple business dress covered with a clean white lab coat.

"I wasn't feeling well so I called it a day." Rose sipped at the drink. "It's nothing to worry about. Just a summer cold,"

Kurisu looked at her a bit uneasily. "If you say so." She clasped her hands together suddenly. "Word around the neighborhood is that you are planning a party for all of us this weekend,"

"How'd you know? I didn't say anything. I wasn't able to last night.." She trailed off. Was this universe's last night the same as hers? Was her mom still a workaholic?

"I know, and I would've had dinner with you last night if I could've. You saw me on TV, right? Both me and your stepdad?" She asked eagerly, and Rose looked away with a nod.

"Yeah. I did..." She sipped some more. "Uh, Mom, I know this might be a bit of an awkward question, but...why?"

"Why what?" She played with her collar.

"Why Uncle Okabe? Uh, I mean.." What did she even call him in this universe? No way 'Dad' would ever suffice or even be appropriate. He wasn't just 'Uncle Okabe' anymore either though, was he?

Kurisu's eyes widened. "A moment shared between lovers, that's all it was. At the time I partially regretted it because...Okabe wasn't the most mature man around. He's really made a name for himself though..." She put a hand on Rose's head. "It gave me you, so it wasn't a total loss,"

Rose nodded. "Did you...name me?"

"Of course. Andrew-san gave you your scrunchie shortly after our wedding, do you remember? He said 'nothing but roses for our beloved Rose!'"

Rose noticed her glass was empty and set it in the sink. "Sorry for all the questions, it's just...sometimes I look at him and feel like...everything isn't supposed to be like this,"

"You know, I sometimes feel the same." Kurisu simply left the kitchen after that, not elaborating.

Rose has no idea where her...stepdad was, and didn't really feel like seeking him out. There weren't any pictures of Okabe in the house with a family-tone, just older stuff from when he was a teenager. Rose collapsed on the couch with a sigh.

Her last name, according to school papers she found in her room, was still Makise-Smith. Made sense. In her own world, Mom hadn't wanted to change her last name as she vastly preferred her maiden name. Here, they were a stepfamily of sorts. If the timeline changed more, would there be times when she was just Rose Smith? Rose Makise?

Rose Okabe?

Okabe had promised to sort things out in any timeline she found herself in, but she found herself hesitating to see him now. They were family. Would it be awkward if his daughter came for help?

Wait, that would mean she was related to the twins. Half-sisters. She had actual blood sisters!

She laid down on the couch and found herself falling asleep, worn-out by the day's events already.

###

Meanwhile, Suzuha headed back to her own house, stepping inside. Her mom was sewing in her room, but it wasn't her mother she wanted.

Instead, she knocked on Daru's office door and walked inside.

"Hey Dad? I know this is probably a weird question for you, but...do you know anything about time-travel?"


	3. Family Matters

The woman on-stage waved politely to her audience, giving a final bow before she began to shuffle off. She wore an elegant black gown that complimented her dark features nicely.

As she walked behind the stage curtains, she suddenly stumbled, tripping and falling off the stage with a gasp. In an instant, a young man in a sleek tuxedo raced over; the woman fell right into his arms in surprise. He blushed heavily as she gave him a smile.

"You're her hero!" Another woman gasped happily, running over to the young man. "Oh, what if one day, you two get married? And have lots of children? That'd make Mayushii very happy!"

The two blushed at that and the young man carefully set the woman back down on her feet.

"I wouldn't mind hanging out with you two for just a bit longer. Why don't we get something to eat?" The pianist suggested, making the young man blush even more.

The girls chuckled at that and each took a hand of his, pulling him out of the now-empty auditorium.

####

Rose woke up early the next morning and skipped having breakfast with her..parents? Her mom? She shook her head and buttered up a warm toasted waffle, beginning to gather up her things to leave. It was already Thursday.

"Rose! My little rosebud!" A familiar voice greeted her, making Rose jump a bit before she relaxed.

"Dad," She nodded awkwardly. "Andrew?"

Andrew laughed. He was a pleasant man of average height with golden hair and deep brown eyes. "It's always just 'Dad'. You feeling okay?"

Rose remained silent. She still referred to him as her father here, even when he biologically wasn't? Even he had only been married to her mother for the past three years.

"Rosebud?" He walked a bit closer to her.

"I don't know. Everything's been...weird lately." She admitted.

"Anything you'd like to talk about?" He asked, and Rose shook her head.

"I think I'm going to go over to the twins' today. Maybe they'll be able to help me," The words were out of Rose's mouth before she could stop them, but she found that was a logical thing to do. After all, they were her sisters in this universe, right? Maybe they had a closer bond.

"Alright. I'm about to head out for work, myself. And your mother is already gone, but she's always just one call away," Andrew smiled and motioned to Rose's red phone, which she nodded at and slipped into her pocket.

With a bite of her waffle, she left the house and walked slowly around town, taking in the sights. Everything was exactly as it always was, which disturbed Rose more. Her own life was practically identical too, just the one small factor of who fathered her had changed.

But why did it bother her so much? She didn't have to live with Okabe, she didn't have to ever see him again if she didn't want to. He married someone else.

She took another bite of her waffle.

Maybe it was just how he normally acted; his pompous attitude and his fake 'mad scientist' persona. All of their parents giggled and played along when he was like that; Itaru was the super-genius hacker, Yuki was his loyal maid, Luka was the tough warrior, Kaede a soft pianist, Kiryuu was the silent assassin, Faris was the cutesy fighter, and Mayuri was his hostage, while Okabe and Kurisu were the mad scientist duo who ruled over them all. Even her friends got super into it when those stories weren't fun even when they were children.

She heard the noise around her begin to pick up some and glanced up, noticing she was in front of Faris' famous cafe.

"Poptart-san wouldn't be a bad person to spend time with," Rose decided to herself, finishing up her waffle and heading inside.

As usual, the cafe was buzzing with activity despite the early hour, and cat-girl maids and a few butlers bustled around from table to table. Rose even caught sight of her Aunt Mayuri working the floor, her blonde ponytailed wig twirling about. She remembered the cafe; May-Queen Nyan-Nyan, was an important part-time job for Mayuri when she was a teenager, but after her marriage and daughters being born, she stopped taking on as many shifts to help out around the house, especially since she had a real job of her own as a teacher. Still, she loved May-Queen Nyan-Nyan and the memories it gave her, so she worked a few hours at a time on days she had nothing else to do, and Aunt Faris was always happy to oblige her.

"Welcome, my lady. Would you like to sit down somewhere?" A voice reached her ears, and Rose glanced over to see Poptart's younger brother, Fenris, staring at her with his pink eyes.

"No thank you. Is your sister here? I wanted to spend the day with her." She shook her head politely.

"Well, she's at work right now." The fifteen-year-old said back calmly.

"I don't mind waiting. Maybe I'll just have some milk,"

"Alright. This way, my lady," Fenris led her to an empty table near the back of the restaurant close to where the employees usually changed or hung out, and gently pulled the chair out for her, then pushed it in just as easily. He headed back to the front of the cafe, while Faris herself walked over, perking up.

"Rose-chan-nya! One of my favourite nieces!" She pulled Rose into a tight hug. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to hang out with Poptart-san, though I suppose I caught her at a bad time," She said, gasping a bit from the tightness of the hug.

"Yes, she's working right now, nyan...but! There is nothing that says you can't hang out here until her shift is over, nya?" She smiled a cat-like smile, bringing a small smile to Rose's own face.

"You're right. Maybe I'll watch TV while I wait,"

"Nyan! And if you need anything, you have me or your Aunt Mayuri here!" Faris winked and walked off to go serve another table. Another random cat-girl maid brought Rose her milk along with a plate of mozzarella sticks, winking.

"It's on the house, my lady!" She smiled and walked off.

Rose pushed the plate away from her, simply not hungry, and sipped at her milk as she watched the bustle of the place.

She didn't know very much about the history of the place aside from what Poptart told her, and she thought it was a very skeevy, weird place. It was Aunt Faris' pride, evidently, and she had owned it ever since she was a child, all by herself.

"If it wasn't for her, Akibahara would be more of an electronics town than a cosplay one," Poptart told her once in junior high.

Rose bit her lip as a sudden bad headache came on, grabbing her head and knocking hard in into the table, making her milk swirl around and nearly splash out of the glass. The image in front of her doubled suddenly; the bustling cafe and a near-abandoned dull coffee shop. She blinked and everything was back to normal, though Mayuri had come over and was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Rorin? Are you alright?" She blinked.

"Rorin..." Rose decided not to question the unusual nickname. "I...my head started to hurt suddenly. I felt dizzy too. It's nothing,"

"Oh yeah, Kurisu-chan said you were coming down with a summer flu!" Mayuri suddenly gasped. "Are you sure you're alright to be walking around?"

Rose certainly didn't wish to get any customers at the cafe sick, though she still nodded. "I'm fine,"

"Okarin still gets bad summer flus from time to time. Mayushii takes good care of him though, and if Rorin gets sick too, she will take care of her too! Mayushii makes a really good broth!"

Okabe too...? Rose had the sudden feeling her symptoms were more than just a simple sickness, especially considering what Okabe told her the other day.

Mayuri walked away to handle more customers, while Rose leaned back in her seat.

What could the symptoms be a sign of? They weren't just simple cold or flu symptoms, they came on suddenly and strong and vanished just as quickly. Even stranger, she had been having the spells ever since she was younger; amplified by a very bad bout of pneumonia she had as a child. Kurisu stayed at her bedside day and night, worriedly caring for her and spending hours arguing on the phone with Okabe. That wasn't a memory from whatever timeline this was either; she had a strong memory of Mr. Smith there too, holding her head up so she could drink water or running a brush through her hair.

She knew she'd have to ask Okabe about it, but...not yet. Poptart and Fenris remained the same here, and she wanted to savour _some_ taste of normality.

The TVs around the cafe were all playing some different kind of anime; all cutesy pastel magical girl things. In one corner of the room was a small game-table set up, where one of the maids was engaged in a tough card game with a guy. The center of the room had a pink stage set up with large speakers and balloons, though nobody was currently on it. The balloons were all shaped like hearts.

No matter where you looked, you were bombarded by every single cute thing possibly known to man. It was hard to take in at times, yet it was a comfort today. Rose's life had already been so chaotic those past two days, she was finally glad for some semblance of normalcy.

She drank the rest of her milk and nibbled at a mozzarella stick, thinking it was a bit dry without the marina sauce. That's how Mr. Smith always enjoyed eating his.

"Why couldn't you wait for me to get off my shift?!" Poptart's nasally voice reached Rose's ears, and she glanced up and offered a small smile.

"Sorry for barging in like this, though I have to say that both Aunt Faris and Aunt Mayuri are working and they hardly minded. Same with Fenris,"

Poptart just pouted and huffed, looking away.

"I just needed a place to relax for a few hours. Dad...he's...uh, we're in a disagreement," Rose nibbled on another.

"Really? You and Smith-san never fight," Poptart asked, genuinely surprised.

"No, not him."

Poptart silenced.

"I don't hate him at all, I just wonder...why him? I don't look like him or act like him...Mom says she doesn't regret it at all, but..." Rose trailed off, unsure of what she was trying to say for once.

Poptart sat across from her at the table. "I get it. You think your life would be easier if you never knew, don't you?"

Rose wanted to flinch at the sudden chipper tone Poptart had adopted.

"I don't know mine. Mama says she doesn't know and I don't think she cares. I was always jealous of that fact, you know," She continued, pouting. "You have siblings, a stepdad...and you know your real father too in spite of that,"

Rose said nothing and stared vacantly at her food.

"Mama was telling me an interesting story last night," Her voice had lowered suddenly. "About our grandfathers. Apparently they used to be best friends back in college. I've always wondered about that,"

"Really? Mom never told me that," Rose asked in disbelief.

"The party's tomorrow...I'm not ready! I have to deal with a bunch of annoying people crammed in a tiny room for several hours!" The serious tone had been replaced with Poptart's usual nasally whine. Rose smiled slightly.

"You'll live," When Poptart laid her head down on the table, Rose gently patted it. She then frowned. "Wait, I thought the party was on Saturday because of our parents' jobs...?"

"Huh?" Poptart glanced up at her pseudo-sister. "It's tomorrow. You and Suzuha-san decided on Friday night in the hopes our parents would be more spirited,"

_No I didn't...I planned it on Saturday. We were all there..._

Poptart left then to go wait on more tables, while Rose stared straight ahead, slowly sipping at her milk. She then winced at the sudden pain in her stomach and quickly set it down.

"Would you like a refill? Anything else for you?" A random cat-girl-maid passing by asked politely, seeing her almost-empty glass. Rose covered her mouth and shook her head.

"No. I was about to leave, actually," She quickly paid the amount necessary and hurried off, a hand still on her stomach.

She could always handle milk just fine before...! Was that due to her half-American blood? Why would something like that even matter?

"Rose-san!" Suzuha said, running over to her at a breakneck speed and nearly colliding with her. "Eeek!"

"What's wrong?" Rose asked in surprise, helping to steady her.

Instead of answering, Suzuha just glanced around at the bustling street, motioning to it. Rose took the hint and grabbed her wrist, ducking back into the maid cafe and sneaking into Faris' office.

"What is it?" Rose asked again, keeping her voice level and at a whisper.

"I was talking to Dad the other day, about time-travel and stuff like that...I was curious about what Uncle Okabe said to us. A bunch of different timelines, just like something in a sci-fi movie! There could be a thousand different versions of me, all living different lives, just think about that! Do you think there's one that's a super badass soldier?"

Rose waited.

"Anyway, he confessed the primitive machine Uncle Okabe built for us was more of a memory-wave thing that could take us back only a few hours in time. I asked if that was why everything seemed to remain the same aside from him having that knowledge, and Dad said yes. He said if we're serious, we're going to need a more advanced time machine and quickly," Suzuha explained.

"I'm not sure...this really isn't something we should be messing with. Uncle Ok-Dad-looked really broken as he told us about it yesterday. We might see things or do things we can never take back and live with that...even if nobody else knows. Especially if nobody else knows." She winced at the name change, but it was the version of herself this version of Suzuha was familiar with.

"Dad says it's up to us to find where the timelines diverged and try to fix it. He says since nothing super major has been changed, it should be an easy fix,"

Rose still doubted it. She knew plenty about time-travel from Uncle Okabe's supposed true stories she heard him sharing with their parents some nights. He never went into details, but the science-fiction novels always did. She could end up in a universe where WW3 has broken out, or a dictatorship has formed, or even worse, a universe where for one reason or another, she was never born. And that's not even counting all of the risks that came with changing history, whether intentional or accidental.

"When will this time-machine be made?" She asked instead.

"Sunday or Monday by the latest. He was amazed I could find the items for it so easily!" Suzuha boasted. "Until then, he said we should use Uncle Okabe's machine only when absolutely necessary,"

Rose nodded and got to her feet, her phone beeping. "Hm?"

_Hiiii! Mayushii wanted to invite you for dinner with her family and Rorin's family too!_

Aunt Mayuri...inviting _her_ for a family dinner?

She had already accepted before she was fully aware of it, then bid Suzuha goodbye before taking the bus over to Mayuri's and Okabe's apartment. The lights were all on inside, and Rose shyly knocked on the door, suddenly feeling awkward she arrived alone.

"Big Sister Rose!" Hanako gasped upon opening the door, throwing herself into a huge hug. Rose widened her eyes in surprise and nearly stumbled; actually falling when Kanako noticed her and joined in on the hug.

"Alright, alright, don't smother your poor sister," Andrew chuckled, shooing the twins away and helping Rose to her feet. "You got here rather quickly,"

"I was one of the only people on the bus," Rose took her shoes off and walked inside, being careful to not slip on the tiles in her black tights. "So there weren't a lot of requested stops,"

She heard Mayuri in the kitchen, finishing up with cooking, as Kurisu and Okabe debated with each other at the table, sitting across from each other. There were two empty chairs across from them as well. Rose sat at the head of the table, across from where Hanako and Kanako were sitting.

She nervously glanced at her Uncle Okabe, tilting her head when she noticed he looked exactly the same as she had always known, aside from being a bit more clean-shaven.

"Aunt Mayuri isn't going to be making...anything with diary, right?" She suddenly asked, making the two look at her.

"I have no idea what she's making, honestly. She just invited us here on a whim," Kurisu sighed.

"It's a shame you can't have anything like that. You haven't lived until you've had strawberry milkshakes with cheese pizza!" Mr. Smith sat down next to Kurisu, grinning.

That was his favourite snack to make for her back in the old timeline, when he was her biological father. She just bit her lip.

"I went to Aunt Faris' cafe earlier and I drank a glass of milk without thinking. Guess I won't be making that mistake again," She could feel Okabe's eyes on her and straightened in her seat. He knew, didn't he? He knew that wasn't normal for her.

"Dinner's ready, tutturu!" Mayuri announced happily, walking into the dining room. "It's hamburgers with peaches!"

"Do those things even go together?" Andrew wondered.

"You didn't put the peaches on the meat, did you?" Kurisu asked as Mayuri started serving everyone. She giggled.

"No, there's no peaches on the meat, it's a side! Though, Mayushii supposes you could add the peaches as a condiment if you want!"

Rose shook her head slightly at that, bowing her head slightly as Mayuri finished serving her.

"Mayushii is excited to go to the party tonight!" She smiled after everyone started eating. "She's a bit unprepared because hers and Yuki-chan's outfits aren't done yet, but...oh! That was meant to be a surprise!"

"New outfits?" Rose asked curiously.

"Yeah, her and her friends are all dressing in a different colour and so are us," Okabe nodded. "Mayuri-chan picked blue for us,"

"Mayushii thought it was a perfect colour," Mayuri nodded in agreement. "But now the surprise is ruined..."

"Can we wear blue too?" Hanako asked eagerly, clasping her hands together. "We don't have a lot of blue, now that I think about it...a lot of our winter clothes are blue but that's it,"

Kanako didn't respond to her twin; instead, she was moving her peaches around on her plate. "They're melting! They're melting! My peaches are melting!"

Rose slowly ate. She thought of how they were her half-sisters in this universe, and how her grandfather and Poptart's grandfather were best friends in university. Why hadn't her mom told her? Maybe she could ask her later...if the timelines didn't switch again and that fact was rendered obsolete.

"You shouldn't play with your food," Kurisu said, staring at Rose. She jumped and glanced down at her plate, realizing she had opened up her burger and was spreading ketchup around aimlessly with her spoon.

"Huh?" The condiments had been mixed into a giant glop on her meat. "Oh, sorry...I was thinking,"

"I don't really think that counts as 'playing'," Andrew chimed in. "Maybe she's one of those girls who enjoys eating mushy burgers!"

"That's gross. Though again, she does get her sense of taste from Okabe,"

"Are you implying I like mushy burgers?! They haven't been popular for ten years, this is something I would know! Don't listen to the lies and propaganda spread about it!" Okabe laughed.

"Then Rorin needs some peaches on hers!" Mayuri laughed, scooping up a handful of them. Rose started to protest before Mayuri suddenly stuck the spoon inside her mouth, making her eyes widen in confusion.

"Thank goodness, you would've ruined a perfectly good burger," Andrew teased.

Rose glanced around at everyone and closed the bun on her burger, slowly eating it. The adults had settled down somewhat and started to talk about their actual jobs and how they were going. Kanako slapped her peaches hard with her spoon, making the juices fly around, while Hanako poured herself some more lemonade.

After dinner, Kurisu and Andrew started readying themselves to leave, while Rose hesitated at the door.

"You don't mind if I...stay the night here, do you? I...I want to go over some last-minute stuff with the twins,"

"Of course!" Mayuri snuck up behind her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Yay! A slumber party! In that case, Kurisu-chan! You should stay too!"

"I don't think your house can accommodate me," Kurisu smiled awkwardly. "It's awfully small."

"Nonsense! You can sleep right in bed with Okarin and Mayushii!"

Rose choked. Kurisu blushed heavily and quickly turned away.

"I have a report that's due at five in the morning, so..it's best if I sleep at my own place tonight," She ran off, flustered. Andrew waved at Rose.

"I'll bring some stuff over for you then, alright? I'll pick you up at noon," He explained, and Rose nodded in understanding. She sighed when Mayuri turned around to face her.

"Well, you've slept over here dozens of times before, so you still remember where your room is, right?" Mayuri asked curiously.

"Er...across from the twins'?" They had a teeny-tiny storage space she often slept in when she visited.

"Nope! You usually make a pallet on their floor and sleep there! It'd be mean to separate you, you know?"

"Where is my hostage? The servants are starting to get cranky!" Kyouma's voice boomed from the back, and Mayuri giggled.

"I'm coming!"

Rose headed over to the twins' shared room, finding one side violet-blue and the other a sky-blue. Fancy cosplay outfits hung neatly on mannequins, and a large desk covered in stickers and fashion dolls was on the other side of the room. There was also a giant basketball hoop game. Portraits drawn by Hanako were on the walls.

Everything was just as she remembered it.

With a sigh, she started setting up her pallet, using spare clean sheets and blankets and then a pillow, forming it right in the center of the room on a butterfly-shaped rug.

"Big Sister is sleeping with us!" Kanako gasped in amazement, giving her a hug.

"Yeah...surprise," She smiled weakly.

"Do you like my pajamas?" Hanako asked, wearing a long blue nightgown with no sleeves and frills on the chest and hem. A big bow was on the back of her head. Rose saw that Kanako wore the same except in purple.

"Yes, they're very cute. Did Aunt Mayuri make those for you?"

"She did!" The twins exclaimed at once.

"We have to sleep well because tomorrow is the party and we need lots of energy," Hanako pouted, crawling into her bed.

"But that's not fair! Big Sis is here and I wanna play with her!" Kanako bounced up and down.

"We just saw her a few days ago!"

"Yeah, and?"

"Asonla?"

"Thaut, thuat, tut!" Kanako looked away in annoyance.

"Onah..."

Rose ignored them and took her hair down, letting it fall to her waist like her mother's. "Are my pajamas here yet?" She asked and received no answer. Well, she wouldn't mind just sleeping in her underwear if she needed to. She peeled off her layers and left them neatly on the foot of her makeshift cot, then crawled in once she was in her small grey camisole and matching panties.

"It's a sleepover, right? And what's a sleepover without...!" Hanako's voice reached her, and rose glanced in that direction before getting hit smack-dab in the face with a pillow. She gasped in surprise.

"H-Hey!"

"Direct hit!" The twins cheered. "We got Big Sister!"

Rose found herself starting to smirk a bit. "You shouldn't have done that..for you just invoked the wraith...of the Makise-Smiths!" She grabbed the pillow thrown at her and tossed it back to Hanako, who took it in the back.

"You fight dirty!" Kanako gasped, still laughing.

"Maybe because I have your father in me," Rose gloated before grabbing her own pillow.

"Pillow fight!" The twins cheered, grabbing their own pillows and beginning to hit Rose with them.

Rose managed to dodge a few hits by leaning back or spinning around, and soon tightened her grip on her pink pillow and hit Kanako in the face with it. "Got you! Now you're out,"

"Awww man," Kanako pouted, tossing her pillow to the ground.

"I can still win this fight! For the Okabes!" Hanako proclaimed, posing with her pillow. "Come at me!"

"Gladly," Rose rushed at her younger sister, slamming the pillow right into her side. Hanako got her at the same time on her back, and both fell to the ground in a flurry of giggles and a few feathers.

"Wow Rosaline, you did a number on those servants, eh?" Kyouma's voice reached her, and Rose was brought out of her fun daze. She glared at him in annoyance.

"Rosaline is not my name. You should know that by now," She placed her pillow back on the pallet.

"Yes it is, it is your mad-scientist name! To be as feared as your mother, Christina!" He folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Kyoma-san!" The twins gasped and started to tidy up the feathers, stuffing them back into their pillows.

"I heard the servants were making a lot of noise in here. Don't they know it's nearly past their bedtime?"

"They still have a bedtime...?" Rose tilted her head.

"Never let it happen again! Rosaline, as a mad scientist, this behavior is expected and cherished from you, but do not forget we have that gathering to attend with the other brilliant minds of this century! The servants are some of the starring guests and therefore should not be groggy!" He laughed before leaving.

"He does that to us a lot before bed," Hanako admitted, crawling into her bed.

"I don't see how you two can stand it," Rose sighed and crawled into her own pallet, curling up under the blankets.

Tomorrow was the party...for some strange reason. She swore on her life it was on a Saturday, and now it's not. She rolled over onto her back and mulled over that thought for a very long time, even after the twins had been asleep for several hours. Rose was almost afraid to fall asleep herself, instead just tossing and turning around all night.

If she fell asleep, would the timeline change again?

Would it remain exactly the same?

Would it go back to the way it was?

Would she ever have a way of knowing?


	4. Party Time

The first half of the day was spent with the girls finishing up last-minute preparations for the party. They decided on ordering four pizzas, three baskets of fries, and two large bottles of Dr. Pepper. Poptart had whined about the amount, saying it was far too much, but Rose managed to calm her down by reminding her a bunch of people were expected to attend that night.

"And besides, there is no shame in having leftovers."

"I doubt that! With how much some of our folks eat?" Suzuha grinned. She had also managed to borrow a silver speaker system from one of Yuki's cosplay friends; a system that had surround-sound and could play anything if it were hooked up to one's iPod. The pseudo-sisters all drew straws and went in order of the lengths they drew; all girls would have a chance to play their music that night though. Kiyomi ironically was going to go first.

Afterwards, the girls all said their goodbyes and headed back home to get ready for the party, all wanting to dress nicely. The cleaning and organization had taken a majority of the afternoon, so they only had a few hours to get dressed in something pleasant and presentable.

Rose was the first one to arrive back, wearing a low-cut black dress with a sheer matching cardigan placed on top and heels, her hair down and her usual ribbon being worn around her wrist. She ordered the food as specified and peeked through the window, wrinkling her nose at the dark and heavy clouds hanging lowly in the sky.

"Tutturu! Here we are!" Mayuri announced her presence, carrying a large ribboned box. She was wearing a teal off-shoulder ruffled top and matching ankle-long skirt with a white ribbon tying her hair back, tiny teal bows on her heels. Okabe came in behind her, wearing a matching polo shirt and tan slacks and black shoes, having also shaved for the occasion.

"No twins with you?" Rose asked in surprise.

"No...Mayushii thinks they went someplace else to get ready," She set the box down on the table.

"What's in that?"

"A surprise!"

Kurisu and Andrew were next, Kurisu wearing a tight business dress in a bright shade of sea-form with a white lab coat over it and pearls in her ears, white tights and heels underneath. Andrew wore a simple caramel-coloured suit with a white tie, almost looking like a cake.

"Oh wow..." Kurisu gasped a bit when seeing Rose. "In this light, dressed like that, you look...so much like me,"

Rose blushed and awkwardly hugged herself, wondering if she was dressed too formally for the occasion. Kiryuu was the next one to arrive with her own husband, Seishirou Yamada, their two children and the twins in tow as well. Kiryuu had teased her hair and wore a V-neck red dress while Mr. Yamada wore a matching suit with a white tie.

"I'm surprised it's not raining with clouds like that," Mamoru whistled, glancing out the window. He was wearing a white polo shirt and dressy pants with a belt.

Kiyomi was the most outlandish-looking, being decked out in a white sailor dress with blue trim and all the fixings, even including anchor-shaped earrings. Her pigtails were uneven and lopsided.

"She wanted to do her hair herself, I'm so proud of her," Mr. Yamada explained. Kiyomi awkwardly tried to fold into herself, taking a picture of the room.

"We dressed her up like that!" Kanako announced, wearing a French maid outfit with a set of cat ears and tail. "Doesn't she look so cute?!"

"That explains it," Rose shook her head, suppressing a laugh.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Hanako gasped, dressed the same as her sister. She pounced on Okabe and gave him a giant hug.

Kiyomi hurried over to the speaker system and placed her iPod in front of it, using the wireless connection to turn it on. After a few seconds, soft and gentle love ballads filled the room.

_Awww, she gets her sense of musical taste from her mama! ^.^_ Kiryuu texted to everyone.

The food arrived at the same time Faris and her children did, Faris herself decked out in what one could only accurately describe as being a cosplay of Princess Peach that badly clashed with her hair.

"Evening!" She smiled. Fenris spotted Mamoru and went over to talk with him, wearing a neat brown suit made from tweed, while Poptart wore a white leotard and tights and opera gloves with a sheer pink tulle dress thrown over it all.

"At least the food's here so we won't be waiting long," She huffed.

Rose widened her eyes and looked around the room, spotting Kurisu listening to Mayuri go on about her colour scheme. She walked over to the two women and waited there silently, speaking up when Kurisu looked over at her.

"Mom...uh, this is probably another weird question, but...yesterday, Poptart-san told me that our grandfathers were good friends in university. Do you know anything about that?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, they were partners and close friends," Kurisu said. "I actually forgot about that...me and Faris-san were a bit close growing up, but nothing special. We both took different paths in life, I suppose," She finally shrugged.

It had started drizzling when Luka and Kaede arrived with their children in tow; they miraculously had remained dry.

"Poor Yuki-chan...I hope they aren't caught up in this," Kaede gasped, a hand at her mouth. She wore a small violet bow in her hair and wore an elegant turtlenecked sweater dress that hugged her curves with black tights and the purple-bowed kitten heels. Luka wore his hair tied up again with a purple T-shirt on underneath a long magenta sweater-dress with jeans underneath and matching purple sneakers.

"Love ballads?" Mari assessed in surprise. "I suppose it is a very good thing that I am up next," She was dressed in a frilly and short kimono-dress that was purple with blue trim; long flowing sleeves and a giant bow in the back. She wore her usual fishnet combination with violet flats and her normal purple skull barrette and black choker. Hikari was dressed in a formal grey school uniform with black trim and caramel tights, her hair curled into little ringlets, while Satoshi wore a pale blue yukata patterned with green vines and matching green zori.

Hikari spotted Rose and walked over to her, smiling. "Hello," She greeted in English.

"Hello yourself," Rose said back in English. Despite never having lived in England or the United States, only visited once or twice, she had been told her English was quite good despite the awkward accent. Both of her parents were bilingual and she assumed that having an American father, even in a world where he wasn't hers biologically, helped in that regard.

"Can you believe we'll be attending the same high-school?" Hikari continued. "It will be my first year and I'm very nervous,"

"Don't be. Yes, foreigners are everywhere there, but there's lots of Japanese people too," She reassured her. "But yes, we are expected to speak English in a few classes. The teachers speak nothing but it in those classes so we're expected to do the same,"

"I just wish I could've gone to Mother's old high-school. She was telling me the other night that they had a really amazing choir program and I was hoping to take part in that,"

Rose widened her eyes. "You sing?"

"Yes, but it is just a hobby of mine. Mother likes to think she raised a very musical family...I sing, Mari-oneechan knows a little bit of koto, and Satoshi wants to learn the guitar because Fenris-kun is taking lessons." She got a thoughtful expression on her features. "I wonder if Father ever feels left out of things like this,"

The last trio finally arrived, just a bit damp from the rain outside. Yuki was wearing a lacy peach blouse and pleated white skirt with a matching headband, the peach bows on her heels sparkling. Daru was beside her in a matching polo shirt and white shorts, a big sunhat on his head. Suzuha still wore her hair in the usual braid-bun she always did, this time wearing a giant pink bow in it and a matching pink frilly blouse under a wide magenta dress patterned with strawberries, matching strawberries on her Mary-Janes.

"Yay! Everyone is here now!" Mayuri cheered.

"You didn't get caught in the rain, did you?" Kurisu asked curiously, noticing their damp clothing.

"Only just a bit," Yuki chuckled a bit. "Itaru-kun had the forethought to get us all bus tickets ahead of time. Before we planned to ride our bikes,"

"Let's get this party started!" Suzuha cheered eagerly. Mamoru spotted her and clasped his hands together.

"Finally! You want a rematch of our arm-wrestling contest from last time?" He was already holding his hand out. Suzuha smirked.

"Do I ever!" They stood in front of the desk and grabbed each other's hands, getting down to it.

"Someone should tell them they'll probably need a referee," Rose pointed out.

The rain came down harder and harder outside, the wind blowing fast against the windows and pounding on them. The rain was joined by lighting and thunder.

Satoshi trembled a bit and hurried away from the window. "Is the building going to fall down?" He asked nervously.

"This place is very sturdy!" Daru gasped.

"Come over here next to me," Kaede held out her arms and Satoshi hurried over to her.

The last song on Kiyomi's iPod finished playing and Mari instantly hooked hers up, blasting out heavy metal. Suzuha grinned triumphantly as she bested Mamoru again. Mayuri shooed the twins away from the ribboned box.

A particularly loud clap of thunder ran out, accompanied by a bright flash of lighting, then the whole room was plunged into darkness.

Rose tensed up, pressing herself against the wall. She could still hear the storm outside and the windows strain against the wind's beating. Every so often white lighting flashed into the room, elongating their shadows.

Okabe stood up and quickly started taking control of the situation. "Daru, Suzuha! You two go look around for an emergency generator and try to hook it up. The rest of the guys and I will talk to Mr. Tennouji downstairs to see if this is just us or a citywide issue. The women will stay here," He directed.

_Why? I'm sure some of us could be helpful, :( _Kiryuu texted.

"It has nothing to do with your helpfulness. I just assumed a few of you would be better off helping with the kids,"

_But they're all adults! Meanie, . _

Okabe chose to ignore that and gathered up Andrew, Seishirou, and Luka, who started to run off before Satoshi tugged on his sleeve.

"I don't want you to go, Father," He cried, and Luka nodded and sat back down on the couch in defeat. Him and Kaede gently leaned their heads on each other, tightly hugging Satoshi.

"I wonder what made the power go out so suddenly. Even in the worst summer storms, the power here never went out," Kurisu blinked. "Even in the winter blizzards didn't make it go out,"

"Maybe it's just a fluke?" Yuki suggested. "Every company has their off-days,"

_I'm pretty sure they fixed random brownouts five years ago...Seishirou-kun told me allllll about it! ^.^_ _So yeah, this random outage is totes strange, _Kiryuu's face was still blank as she stared down at her phone.

"You guys don't think there could be a tornado or something, right?" Kaede suddenly spoke up. "I mean, it's possible..."

"I don't want there to be one! Please don't make a tornado happen!" Satoshi cried.

"Oooh, since we said the word, now a tornado's going to come! Ooooh, it's going to sweep you up and away!" Poptart tiptoed over to Satoshi with her arms up, fingers curled, and tightly grabbed his shoulders. "Got you!"

He loudly screamed and started crying. "You're so mean, Poptart-oneesan..."

Luka gently rubbed his hair, trying to soothe him. "Um, that wasn't very nice..."

"So? Any doofus knows tornadoes don't happen in big cities," Poptart huffed.

"Actually, that's a rumor. Tornadoes are actually very common in big cities. Tokyo has had quite a few over the years since they're common on this side of the nation," Kurisu said.

"Mayushii's worried about Okarin and Daru...they should be back by now," Mayuri pouted.

"Can we open the box now, Mommy?" Hanako asked.

"Nope, it's still a surprise!"

Rose looked out the window, noticing the city itself was dark. So it was a citywide thing, or at least in this neighborhood. She wondered if her headache would come back.

"Everyone is so gloomy, nya..." Faris sighed before perking herself up. "Let's play a game!"

Everyone perked up at that and eagerly glanced over at Faris, already knowing what sort of game she was referring to.

"These are very dark, trying, troubling times indeed! The brave Kyouma-san has gone off to an enemy base owned by the Organization, trying to restore the electricity they stole from the innocent townspeople. But he cannot do it alone. Luckily, he has us, the bravest warriors and scientists ever known to history! And our children, born from the wombs of destruction and the seeds of evil purely to bring chaos upon this great land! They will follow on our footsteps after we retire,"

Rose subtly rolled her eyes. It was good that she was trying to comfort everyone, but did she really have to be so obnoxious about it?

"That's why he left me in charge. He trusts me and I need to keep you all in line!" Kurisu nodded, slipping her hands into her coat pocket. "Now I'm glad i had the forethought to wear this, just like a true mad scientist!"

"Kaede-chan and I will tidy the place up for their return!" Yuki smiled and the two women mimed picking things up, dancing around. "It's my job as a maid after all!"

Rose glanced over at the sound of fancy shoes clacking on the hard wood over to her and squinted to try and pick out the shadow.

"Hey, um..could you please walk me to the bathroom? It's too dark to see anything," Hikari's voice, now speaking in Japanese, reached her, and Rose quickly nodded and then answered in the affirmative.

"Yes. Just follow me," She motioned to Hikari and then led her down the hallway, pointing out the toilet room to her. "It's pretty cramped but..."

Hikari squirmed a bit awkwardly and looked away. "May I please borrow your phone? Just for light,"

"Sure," Rose pulled the red phone out and carefully tossed it to Hikari, who caught it and turned it on.

"It's password-protected, so the light won't remain on for long, you have to keep turning it on. But I don't think that's an issue," Rose told her. She then leaned against the wall and sighed a bit after Hikari went inside.

"You need to come with me. Right now," A new voice reached her and Rose was suddenly aware of someone grabbing her arm and pulling it behind her back, making her gasp. She squirmed around and tried to ram herself into the person's chest, only freezing when she felt the familiar coat wrap around her.

"Un-Dad?!"

"I've already gathered the others. We need to go to Daru's place right now," Okabe hadn't even seemed to have heard her, only carefully dragged her along. Her pseudo-sisters were missing, but their siblings and parents were staring at Okabe with confused wide eyes.

"Where are we going?" She asked as they rushed down the stairs and into the rain. He paused near a bench.

"The time machine. There was...something threatening sent in the mail to Daru. He hurriedly finished it and now you seven need to hide in it. Just for a day or two," His eyes seemed trained on something in the distance.

"We can't live in a time machine, Dad," She remained hidden under a Verdana, not wanting her dress to get wet. "It's not a house,"

"He's going to explain everything,"

"But our parents and-" Something white entered her field of vision and she caught it, staring down at his lab coat.

"No sense in you catching a cold," Okabe stared at her and Rose felt her face beating up as she slowly pulled the coat on over her back and shoulders like a hoodie, covering her face.

"I look stupid, Dad,"

"This is no time for complaints! We are on a mission to save the world!" He grabbed her hand and soon they were running again, Rose panting after only a few streets due to the pace and the slippery roads.

Once they reached Daru's house, Rose tore the coat off and suppressed a gasp at the small cylinder huddled into the corner of the yard. Well, it was technically a giant cylinder, made from some sort of shiny metal, almost like a satellite. She curiously walked over to it. A bright flash of lighting flashed nearby.

"Big Sister!" The twins ran over to her and both hugged her on either side, sounding close to tears. Rose gently patted their heads. Even Mari and Poptart looked distressed, and Kiyomi's camera was nowhere in sight.

"I'm sorry, but I had to rush the time machine," Daru explained lowly. Suzuha was behind him, a large white backpack on her shoulders, still wearing her clothes from the party. "As a result, the furthest it can go back or forward is only twenty years. So you could go twenty years into the future, or twenty years into the past, but no more. It also has no cloaking technology, so make sure you land it someplace secretive."

"You're hiding us away in 2010, aren't you?" Rose asked levelly. "That's very dangerous. What if we run into one of your younger selves?"/

"I mean, we don't gotta hide in 2010. We could go even further to 2050," Suzuha smiled a bit.

"It'll just be for a few days. After that, the threat will be gone. After all, they can't search for something that doesn't exist!" Daru pressed a few buttons and small double-doors on the cylinder opened up, revealing a control center with seven seats organized in a circle. "Truthfully, I don't know what timeline this will make us end up in. It's a risk we're going to have to take though,"

"And you're not even going to let us say bye to our parents?! That sucks!" Poptart fussed, her hands on her hips.

"Suzu-chan, you're going to be in charge from here on out. Take care of your pseudo-sisters and the time machine," Daru said to Suzuha, who nodded. "If something goes wrong with it, I know you can fix it,"

"Okie-dokie, Dad," They both hugged before Suzuha climbed in, taking the seat closest to the controls. Rose filed in next, the twins seated on either side of her. Kiyomi and Mari sat next to each other, and finally Poptart sat near the back.

"It is a tad cramped," Mari pouted.

Daru and Okabe stood solemnly outside the machine as the doors closed up, and almost instantly afterwards Suzuha started to type in coordinates.

"This is risky," Rose sighed. Hiding out in a foreign time for a few days with advanced technology that evidently someone was out to get? With their parents' younger selves running around? It sounded like a paradox waiting to happen.

"What's in the backpack?" Kiyomi pointed.

"Supplies. We might need to get a bit more once we arrive, but Dad booked us up with some staples," She smirked. "Figured it out. Now, 2010, here we come!"

She pressed a button and tightened her grip on the wheel, and Rose closed her eyes as the next sensation in her body for several long seconds was the feeling of getting twirled into spaghetti.

###

When Rose opened her eyes, she realized the previous sensation was gone and had been replaced with the one of her flying. She widened her eyes and in the next second, groaned as she suddenly hit the ground hard, the grass flattening under her. She groaned again and tried to lift her head up to scope the scene.

Several trees had been knocked over or just bent, and the otherworldly culprit was lying tilted in the ground, the doors wide open. A few of the girls were still inside, but Rose and Kiyomi had been thrown out by the looks of it.

"Are you alright?" Mari stared down at them, gracefully jumping out herself. Suzuha followed and grimaced.

"I hope nothing's broken," She gently helped the two up. "I guess I got the landing just a _teensy_ bit off..."

Rose gingerly rubbed the stains off her dress, wincing at how the green showed up against the black.

"It's...okay...first time," Kiyomi reassured her, taking a quick picture of the landscape.

"Alright, we need people to stay here and monitor the time machine and people to scout around. Look for more supplies," Rose directed.

"I should stay here. If this thing is busted, we can't get back home and I'm the only one with the expertise to fix it," Suzuha said, slipping the backpack off.

"I shall stay here too. Seeing a younger version of my father is enough to turn my stomach," Mari hid her mouth with her sleeve and tittered.

"Same here...I mean...I don't think I'll be much help anywhere else..." Kiyomi trembled.

"In that case...Hanako-chan, please stay here," Rose ordered, making the twin in question tense up.

"W-Why? Booga floods? I don't want to be apart from my sister!"

"I know," Rose placed a gentle hand on her younger half-sister's shoulder. "But what if we run into Aunt Mayuri or Dad? Seeing two Mayuris...or a big Mayuri and two little Mayuris would confuse them,"

Hanako giggled a bit. "It sounds a little silly..." She looked over at Kanako. "We've never been apart before..."

"But you won't even be apart. We're just going on a scouting mission, you know? Because..." Rose swallowed a bit. "Because we're mad scientists and it's what we do,"

"Yeah! Big Sister is the best mad scientist ever!" Kanako grinned, and Hanako nodded.

"Alright,"

Rose patted her on the back. "Thatta girl,"

Suzuha handed the backpack to Rose, who stood with Poptart and Kanako. The remaining four girls waved to their pseudo-sisters, and the three waved back, continuing to do so until they left the forest.

It was a hot and sunny day, the kind that was making Rose regret wearing black. The backpack was already starting to chaff on her shoulders.

2010, huh? It wasn't all that different from her current year, just a bit less advanced. The city still seemed to look mostly the same.

First things first, locate their parents as teenagers. And then secondly, avoid them at all costs. And thirdly, get back on the time machine and head back to their own time as if nothing had ever happened.

Easy?

Rose hoped so.

Though something in her gut was telling her everything had suddenly just become a whole lot complicated.


End file.
